HP 8722 E to a USB Printer

I am trying to hook an HP8722 NA to a USB HP LaserJet. (since it is impossible to get parallel printers anymore, well affordable ones that is)

I tired the National Instruments GPIB-USB solution, but it reguires a computer between the NA and the printer and the Engineer/Tech finds this solution unacceptable. He wants to hit print on the NA and then the printer prints - no second step.

Then I tried the LPT2USB print cable which claims to take anything sent out on the parallel port and then send it to a usb printer - this doesn't respond at all.

I have a feeling that I have some settings wrong on the HP8722 - shouldn't it be sending HPGL out over the parallel port - and shouldn't all HP Laserjets after HP LJ 3 support this language?

I'm not really sure what more to try - and I'm running out of ideas.

Has anyone found an acceptable solution to plotters that are also obsolete?

well, i was hoping to 1) stop having to buy used plotters and plotter pens at crazy prices

2) the Tech does NOT want to go through a PC, we had the working, and he disliked it so much he disconnected it and gave me back to converter the same day.

We had an old converter from Intelligent interfaces but it only goes GPIB to parallel, and sure would like to use the same laser printer he has attached to his computer ( an hp with no parallel connection, of course)

Has anyone attached a printer to the Parallel output of the HP 8722E and gotten it to work? That is my next step, but again it leaves me with having to have two seperate printers at a single bench and an old discontinued printer to boot.

you can send data to the device at the parallel port using either printer commands (bitmap graphics) or plotter commands (HP-GL pen commands). It might be worthwhile trying both methods, if you haven't already.

Local, SET ADDRESSES, PLOTTER PORTyou can set the port a parallel, and the plotter type as HPGL printer.

You can also set the printer port, and printer type under the Local menu.

Copy, PLOT uses HPGL commandsCopy PRINT uses PCL bitmapped graphics

a printer with PCL 5 has HPGL compatibility. PCL 3+ only gives you bitmapped graphics for PRINTER comaptibility only.

You might check under the Local menu to see that the parallel port mode is set to COPY, and not to GPIO.

If you are not already at the last firmware revision (A.07.74), download and install it before you try anything else.

You could also save a plotfile to floppy disk, and print it out later.Unfortunately, these days most practical solutions for hardcopy on these analyzers involve a computer...